GIST invites all eligible participants from GIST eligible countries in the three regions of Africa, Asia, and Middle East & Turkey to participate in its annual GIST Technology Idea (Tech-I) Competition. Tech-I is designed to encourage and support technology and
science entrepreneurs to launch and/or grow a company in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Turkey through:
 Training and mentorship with successful entrepreneurs, angel investors, and venture capitalists
 Networking opportunities
 Seed funding
The Tech-I application, consisting of an Executive Summary directed to investors and a two-minute promotional video of the product or service created for customers, will be reviewed by judges, who are experts within the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Ninety quarter-finalists will be selected. The videos of the selected 90 quarter-finalists will be posted online for public voting. Thirty semi-finalists will be invited to the workshop, pitch session, and award ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in October 2013. The semi-finalists will be judged by experts to determine the winners. Competition winners will receive grants ranging from $2,000 to $15,000; the application with the greatest number of public votes for the video voting portion of Tech-I will receive an iPad.

ELIGIBILITY

1) Tech-I application must be written in English, and the video must be in English or with English subtitles.
2) Application’s idea or startup must focus on science or technology solutions with market potential in sectors such as information and communication technologies (ICTs), energy, and health.
3) All members of a team can only enter the competition once with one submission.
4) Each team must select a member who will be the applicant for the team in this competition. This member does not have to occupy a particular position on the team, i.e. CEO. That member is hereafter referred to as the applicant.
5) The applicant must be either a permanent resident or citizen of a GIST eligible country. U.S. citizens or permanent residents are not eligible to participate in the competition.
6) Each applicant must choose to enter the competition as either an Idea Stage or Startup Stage classification based on the following criteria:

Idea Stage (often individuals or small teams)
– The entrepreneur has research or technology with commercialization potential and is willing to start a business
– The entrepreneur has started thinking about the qualifications of the management team necessary to execute the idea
– The entrepreneur has started to identify advisors
– The entrepreneur has started market research

Startup Stage (often team)
– Venture is for-profit and less than three years old from date of launching startup
– Product or service is currently in a testing or pilot stage
– Venture is either self-funded or has external financing (either from public or private sources)
7) The applicant must be at least 18 years old and able to both read and speak English proficiently.
8) Final award winners from previous GIST Tech-I and I-Dare competitions are not eligible to apply for the 2013 GIST Tech-I competition.
9) The applicant should be ready and available to present their technology idea or startup during trainings and business pitch presentations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on October 10-12, 2013.

10) The applicant must hold a valid passport and be eligible to travel to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to participate in the workshop and pitch session if selected as a semi-finalist.
11) All awards will be granted to the applicant only.
12) Applications that fall under the following categories will not be accepted:
 pure research projects with no demonstrable commercial potential
 team based at a charity or foundation (not-for-profits) organizations
 teams based at organizations that buy and resell technologies and other goods

PRIZES
Tech-I Winners Award
Startup Idea
1st Place $15,000 $15,000
2nd Place $10,000 $10,000
3rd Place $5,000 $5,000
Best Female Entrepreneur Award $4,000
3 Honorable Mentions $2,000 each
Applicant with greatest number of votes during online voting iPad2 months of mentorship for business development and coaching All semi-finalists will be paired with U.S. and/or international mentors